Crossroads - February 19, 2017
Segment 1 - As we observe Black History Month, we look back at Dr. Martin Luther King's final visit to Houston in 1967 - six months before his assassination. King, who had recently announced his opposition to the Vietnam War, came to town to promote a concert featuring Aretha Franklin and Harry Belafonte at the Sam Houston Coliseum. The show was marred by someone from the White Citizens Council placing a smoke bomb in the air conditioning event. Belafonte never returned to Houston following that incident.
Segment 2 -- Scott Brogan, founder and executive director of the "Brilliant Lecture Series," discusses the popularity of the series that has brought a wide-range of fascinating individuals to Houston. The latest guest speaker is 89-year old Harry Belafonte, who is returning to Houston for the first since the 1967 incident at Sam Houston Coliseum. He is expected to discuss his reasons for avoiding Houston for 50 years. Belafonte is the latest name in an impressive list of speakers taking in part in the Brilliant Lecture Series that has included Mikhail Gorbachev, Maya Angelou, George Clooney, Sidney Poitier and many others.
Segment 3 - A discussion on a Texas Southern University program that focuses on getting middle school boys interested in science, technology, engineering and math. Rodney Bush with TSU and Ali Pipkin, an eighth grader at Mickey Leland Prep Academy, talk about the growing success of the program that aims to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers and increase minority participation in tech fields.
Segment 4 - Details on a scholarship event to help connect students with job aspirations in science, technology, engineering and math to scholarship money. The "Achievement Through Leadership Foundation" puts on the event every year. Studio guests are Fred Navarre, Board Chairman of ATLF and scholarship recipient, Moses Mbai.
